Duel of Hearts
by Demonix Kata
Summary: Harry and Bit get trapped in a cave after a relentless duel for Leena's love. Harry's talk about Leena starts to get Bit to contemplate his own feelings for Leena. And Harry can't let that happen! For all the B/L fans. R&R!


Well here I am with another Zoids fic. This time it's a little humorous B/L fic I thought up. I had this idea for a while and I just got around to typing it out. I also want to warn you that this fic may come off as anti-Harry so I just want to say that I am NOT anti-Harry. Heck, I don't think this fic gives off an Anti-Harry vibe at all, but if it does, please forgive me. And that's all I have to say. Enjoy this fic for what it's worth and please don't flame me!! Feedback is welcome, but no flames. They burn.

Obligatory Disclaimer – I don't own Zoids or it's characters except for a few models that I bought with my own money. Heh.

--------------------------------------------

Duel of Hearts

"Unnh…where am I?" groaned a dazed Bit Cloud. He could hear raindrops splashing on the ground. Hear it, but not feel it. He opened his eyes wide open and looked at his surroundings. Yes, it was raining. Raining outside. So where was inside?

It wasn't the Tauros Base that was for sure. His hands clawed at the ground. It was muddy and damp. Soil. 

He sat up and rubbed his hands on the walls. The walls were stone. He gazed up and saw stalactites hanging from the ceiling.

A cave! He was in a cave! But how in the world did he get there? He looked down at himself. He was filthy. He had dirt all over him and his clothes were somewhat torn. No, he wasn't in his normal clothes. It was his Zoid uniform. Was he in a Zoid battle? That memory did seem faint. He did remember being in a battle a little while ago. Was it a little while ago? How long has he been here?

Questions raced through his head. But could anyone answer them?

He looked around to see if anyone was with him. No, he was all alone.

Worry started to crawl up Bit's spine.

"It's ok, Bit, just stay calm," he told himself, "I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation for this." He put a hand on his forehead and instantly took it back. It stung! It had been bleeding earlier and the cut was still fresh. He was bleeding? What in the world happened to him?

Slowly, he got up. He ached all over and wobbled a bit before he accomplished perfect balance.

"Man," he groaned, "Whatever happened was a real doozy. I wonder if…"

He was soon cut off by his own shock. A dark figure stood, wet in the cave entrance, eyes narrowed. The logs at his side were immediately dropped. Bit gulped.

"C-C-Can I help you?" he asked nervously.

The figure rushed at him with liquid speed and grabbed him by the shirt collar. His angry face just centimeters away from Bit's confused one. Now that they were closer, Bit recognized who it was.

"Harry Champ? What are you doing here?" Bit asked innocently.

"What am I doing here?!" Harry yelled.

"Yeah, that's what I asked," Bit said obviously, "And how did we get here? Where's the rest of the Blitz Team?"

Harry looked at Bit, dumbfounded, and let him go.

"You mean to tell me you don't remember how we got here and how this is all your fault?" Harry asked viciously.

"My fault? How is this my fault?" Bit asked disbelievingly.

"If you never had any feelings for *my* Leena, I wouldn't have had to challenge you for her love this morning!" Harry explained, still mad.

 "Me have feelings for Leena? I don't know about that, buddy, but I do seem to recall you challenging me this morning after Doc introduced that new CAS unit for my Liger…"

*A few hours ago*

"So? What do ya think?" asked the Doc, excited to hear Bit's reaction. What was there to say? Bit was in pure awe. He didn't remember being this fascinated since he saw the Panzer. This new CAS was red and black and had extended blades like the Schneider and had custom blaster attachments for almost any kind. It wasn't designed to be agile like the Jager, but specialized in offensive power and specialized guns akin to a Gunsniper's sniper abilities.

The Blitz Team was in the hangar, marveling at the Doc's latest purchase. Everyone was quite impressed. Even Jamie didn't complain about how much this would set them back (he soon would, though).

"What do I think? There's no words good enough to express how incredible this is!" Bit exclaimed.

"Glad you like it!" Doc said satisfyingly, "It's called the Daredevil. Quite appropriate, I might add, especially with the things you'll be doing with it."

"Daredevil, huh?" Bit sounded out, "Well the name might be dumb, but it sure looks cool."

"Hey!"

"Oh Leena! I'm here to see you!" cried a singsong voice. Into the hangar walked Harry Champ, a man destined to be king.

"How did he get here?" Leena wondered.

"Blame his parents," Brad muttered and sauntered out the room.

"Hey Harry, what's up?" Bit greeted. Harry chuckled deviously.

"I'll tell you exactly what's up, Bit Cloud! I wanna challenge you to a one-on-one Zoid battle!"

"What for? Why would I waste my time on you again?"

Harry's face turned red from anger at Bit's insensitive remark.

"What for? For Leena's love of course!" Harry said triumphantly.

"Oh brother," Leena groaned.

"Isn't that cute," Doc said.

"Dad," Leena moaned again.

"So what do ya say, Bit?"

"Ummmm…"

"I mean, let's face it, I've noticed the way you've been looking at her recently whenever I come over. A mirror image of the way I do. I know Leena's stunning beauty is hard for any sane male to resist with her beautiful red hair, gorgeous violet eyes and…"

"OK, OK, we'll battle. Just stop talking about her like that," Bit said looking at Leena, who was blushing furiously. Bit narrowed his eyebrows and huffed.

"What is this? Jealousy? I knew it! You do have feelings for her!"

"No I don't, it's just that I realized this would be a good opportunity to try out the new CAS unit the Doc got for my Liger. Nothing else," Bit explained.

"All right then. If I win, you keep your hands off Leena forever," Harry said.

"And if I win, you stay away from Leena for as long as you live. _Comprende_?"

"All I'll say is that you better start learning to cope with the fact that your relationship with Leena will never go beyond platonic," Harry said smugly.

"You just better get prepared for the restraining order that'll soon be put on you, buddy," Bit said with contempt.

"I guess I'll be seeing you in a couple hours Bit. You too, my fair maiden," Harry said blowing a kiss to Leena. Finally, he left the hangar with Bit feeling utterly annoyed by him. Leena, however, was suddenly in love with the situation.

"Wow, two valiant men, dueling for my love. It's just like back in the Middle Ages!" Leena said, giggling like a schoolgirl and enjoying the attention. Leena never thought much about Bit, though. Was the whole "opportunity to use the new CAS unit" an excuse? He was willing to go through this "dueling with Harry" thing a second time and didn't give in until Harry reminded him about her obviously stunning features and gave him reason to fight for her. At least that's what she thought. Of course, she was so busy thinking about the duel and the men's reasons for the duel that what would happen AFTER the duel never crossed her mind.

"Leena are you sure about this?" asked Jamie, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Huh?"

"I mean, Bit and Harry are treating you like a trophy and didn't even get your consent at all," Jamie explained.

"What else is new?" Leena asked sarcastically, and then added in her giddy tone, "I'm more beautiful than a thousand trophies and they'd be crazy not to fight for me, don't you agree?"

Jamie rolled his eyes and walked up to Bit who was still miffed about Harry.

"What about you, Bit?" he asked, "You can only kick Harry's butt so many times before it becomes boring."

"I know, but I have a feeling this battle's gonna be different."

"How so?"

"I'm getting rather annoyed by Harry always bugging Leena. If I win this battle then he wouldn't be able to come within ten feet of her ever again."

"Is that why you're doing this? You're doing it for Leena, not to get her?"

"Yeah. Why else would I do it?"

"Oh I just thought…" Jamie began but was soon interrupted by Dr. Tauros.

"Sorry to interrupt, guys, but the Zoid Battle Commission will be sending the information on Harry's requested battle soon. We had better get ready," said Doc.

Four hours later, the Hover Cargo was near the Mystic Forest, patiently awaiting the Champ Team. This was the spot Harry chose for the battle. No one knew why, though. Zoid battles generally took place in desert areas, but this was in a huge patch of forest. Not just any forest either, but the Mystic Forest. A forest where absolutely no animals lived or any humans for that matter and it was always covered in fog, regardless of the weather conditions outside the forest. Lots of urban legends surrounded the Mystic Forest, but the ZBC designated it as a Zoid battlefield anyway. 

Bit was all set to mobilize his Liger and itching to try out the new Daredevil unit. The rest of the Blitz Team was in area of the Hover Cargo where Doc and Jamie would normally watch the battle. Leena and Brad were out of this one since it was a one on one.

"What's taking Harry so long? You'd think he of all people wouldn't be late," Leena observed.

"Yeah," Brad agreed, "What's keeping him?"

"He probably chickened out," Bit laughed arrogantly from the Liger, but his laughter was soon silenced when a Whale King approached. The Prince had arrived.

"Just wait until Bit Cloud sees what I have in store for him," Harry sneered, "This battle will be over in no time."

"Try not to screw up Harry," Benjamin advised.

"Screw up?! Why do you think I'd do that?" Harry took offense.

"N-nothing! Just good luck, that's all."

"Hmph." Harry mobilized his Zoid and exited the Whale King.

"Do you think Harry will win this time?" Benjamin asked Sebastian.

"I actually have confidence in him. Especially with all the things he's done with this new Zoid…"

The judge capsule slammed into the ground from above and opened up. It gave its short little speech, set the battle mode, and gave the signal for the battle to begin.

"Hey, what's with the fancy looking Dark Horn? That won't be good in a forest area," Bit commented. Harry's Dark Horn had remarkably huge attachments to it, like larger guns and a new green armor plate.

"_Au contraire_, Bit! I added a few modifications to this Dark Horn. It'll outdo your Ligerin this little area for sure," Harry scoffed.

"We'll just see about that," Bit said under his breath, "Go Liger!"

Two black blades protruded from the Liger's muzzle and charged at Harry's Dark Horn at amazing speed. But the Dark Horn quickly dodged it and aimed its rifles at the Liger's side and fired. Liger was pushed by the force, but quickly regained its composure.

"I never knew the Dark Horn to be that agile," Jamie said, amazed.

"Might have something to do with the new installations Harry made," Doc observed.

"Gee, ya think?" Brad said sarcastically.

The Liger and the Dark Horn continued fighting for a good half-hour, with neither of them backing down. Bit was getting exhausted, but he wouldn't back out. No way was he going to lose to Harry Champ.

He scanned the Liger 0 Daredevil's screen to see what else it had to offer. There was a Particle Beam Cannon installed and seemed very useful right about now.

"Okay, Liger, let's activate the Particle Beam Cannon," Bit commanded followed by the Liger's roar in compliance.

"A Particle Beam Cannon? Isn't that a bit dangerous?" Jamie asked.

"Not to worry, Jamie. It'd only be real dangerous if Harry happened to have one and used  it at the same time," Doc assured. Unfortunately, Harry did have a Particle Beam Cannon attached to his new custom Dark Horn. And surely enough, he fired it at Bit's Liger, the same time Bit fired his Particle Beam Cannon.

"Doc, what you said is coming true!" Jamie whined.

"Hm. This is bad," Doc said casually.

"Oh great, if those things collide, we could die," Brad said. Leena gulped.

"Th-that's not true, is it Dad?" asked Leena.

"Nah," Doc assured, "It could just create a shockwave that could blow us back a few miles, not enough to kill us." Leena, Brad, and Jamie breathed a sigh of relief.

"But it could be enough to kill Bit and Harry."

"WHAT?!"

The two beams slammed into each other, pushing each other, until everything in the area turned white from it's bright light. Leena, Brad, Jamie, and Doc all covered their eyes to avoid destroying their retinas. Harry realized the mistake and instantly regretted firing the weapon, but Bit just found it all too exciting.

The judge set out a warning that the two warriors would have to nullify the attacks, but the noise of the burning beams was so loud it couldn't be heard. 

"Warning! Warning!" it kept saying over and over again, but to no avail. The beams kept pushing and pushing into each other. Trees around them began to char from the heat. The Hover Cargo, the judge capsule, and the Zoids themselves were beginning to char. How much longer could this take? 

Bit charged up the beam to full power as did Harry. Neither of them would back down. Both were confident they were going to win. Nothing would ruin it. Nothing.

An explosion.

The beams erupted into a huge white light that engulfed them all. When it cleared, the judge capsule had been destroyed. Trees in the surrounding area were eliminated The Hover Cargo was almost tipped over and the people inside were lying on the floor, slowly getting up, trying to fight the aches and pains that were keeping them down. And finally, the Liger and Dark Horn were badly damaged with smoke rising from the cockpits.

*Return to present*

Bit's face turned pale.

"I remember it," he said, "Oh, God, they must think we're dead!" Harry nodded.

"It's terrible. Leena must be crying buckets for me. But we can't get out of here. I barely know where we are."

"Where are we?"

"In a cave I found in the Mystic Forest. That's all I know. When I was out there looking for firewood, I almost got lost coming back here. It's an easy place to get lost in."

Bit sat back down on the dirt.

"How did we get here?"

"After the explosion we were blown straight out of the Zoids' cockpits. That explains all the scratches and cuts we have. You were knocked out, but I was still conscious. It started to rain so I dragged you over to this cave for shelter.

"Thanks," Bit said, "I feel sorry that this is all your fault."

"My fault?"

"Yeah, you could've chosen a better place to fight, but no, you had to chose this maze of a forest."

"Well you shouldn't have been after my Leena!"

"What makes you think I'm after her?"

"Because she likes you."

This caught Bit's attention.

"Wait a minute…she likes me? Did she…tell you that?"

Harry crossed his arms and thought hard.

"Well," he began, "she never actually _said_ that, but she does bring you up a lot in our phone conversations."

"Like…"

"Like whenever I ask her how her day went, she'd talk about something you did that impressed her. If I didn't know any better I'd say the way she would describe you was dreamy like."

"Wow," Bit said smiling a little, "I never knew."

"You never knew?" Harry asked. Bit shook his head. This gave Harry an idea. Bit didn't know he had a chance with Leena, but Harry knew he did. And Harry could only make it worse by  clueing him in if he kept talking like that. So all he had to do was make sure he didn't talk about it all. If anything, put it in a negative light, so Bit would actually be turned off and Leena would be all his.

"Well for all you know she could've just been very friendly," Harry said.

"Friendly? HA! Leena isn't friendly at all!" Bit spat. It was working! Harry thought.

"What are you talking about?" he asked innocently.

"She's always chasing me around, sometimes not even for a reason. She never shares anything with me and whenever I happen make a mistake, like accidentally walking in on her in the shower, she yells at me to no end!"

"You…saw her…in the shower?" Harry asked, dumbfounded. It wasn't fair.

"It's almost like she _enjoys_ it," Bit huffed.

"And you definitely don't enjoy it," said Harry. Bit thought for a minute.

"Well, I don't enjoy it per se, but…well…now that I think about it, I do kind of…like the attention she gives me," Bit admitted.

"Yeah, she says that sometimes she likes giving you the attention, on the phone," Harry said nonchalantly, the immediately covered his mouth. _Idiot, you shouldn't of let HIM know that!_

"Really?" Bit asked, surprised.

"Did I say 'attention'? I meant, uh, 'convention'!" Harry said, putting his arm behind the back of his head and laughed nervously.

"Convention? That doesn't even…"

"Hey! Let's talking about something else! Like, uh, strawberries!"

"Strawberries?" Bit questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. They're my favorite fruit. I'd take eating a strawberry over eating a banana, any day," Harry said.

"I'll agree with you there, buddy," Bit agreed, "You know who else loves strawberries? Leena! She's got this real nice strawberry. Most delicious one I ever tasted."

"She let you eat her strawberries?" Harry asked.

"Not really. I sort of took it without asking. Why should I have asked her if she'd say no anyways?" Bit said.

"Strawberry red reminds me of Leena's hair," said Harry dreamily, "So lavish and flows like a river. So shiny and beautiful. There's no other hair like it."

"She definitely washes her hair more than she should," Bit commented.

"And those deep violet eyes. I've never seen more beautiful eyes," Harry continued.

"Yeah," Bit concurred. Ack! Another mistake!

"Uh, yeah her eyes are deep. So deep you could wade through 'em!" Harry said, trying to sway Bit's opinion. Bit shook his head.

"No, you were right the first time. I've never realized it before, but she does have remarkably beautiful eyes," Bit confessed. Harry slapped his forehead. Here he is trying to nullify Bit's affections for Leena, but he's actually instigating it! Criminey!

The only way to stop this was to simply not talk about her. Talk about something else.

He leaned his back against the cave wall. Bit sort of yawned. Well, no one said they _had_ to talk. They could just sit there and listen to the rain. But Bit was too much of a people person, so he just _had_ to make conversation.

"How long has it been raining?" he asked.

"About an hour, I guess," Harry answered.

"I wonder if there's a search for us going on. Hope my Liger's okay. I can imagine the damages."

"I'm sure it's fine."

"Easy for you to say. If your Dark Horn is totaled you can just buy another one. But my Liger's a whole different matter. It's the only Zoid out there for me."

"Don't be so dramatic. It's fine," Harry assured.

"I can't help it. I love my Liger," Bit said.

"Geez, you're worse then Leena when it comes to being a drama queen, er, king in your case. Except she's cute when she doing it," Harry said smiling.

"You kidding? She's annoying!" said Bit.

"No she's not! Don't you ever call my darling Leena annoying!" Harry yelled, then continued in a soft, dream-like voice, "Whenever she breaks down in tears or worries she makes me feel so sorry for her and I'd want to hug her and console her and make her feel better."

"I know what you mean," Bit said, "I remember a time she challenged Naomi. She thought now that she was in Class S, beating her would be easy. And since it was okay for a Class S warrior to challenge a Class A warrior if the Class S wanted to, Naomi went ahead with it. And beat her. Leena was so devastated after the loss she began to question her abilities as a good Zoid pilot. She was so depressed. I tried my best to console her and make her feel better. I've never felt so sorry for her in my life." Bit smiled a little and let out a small laugh. "You know, I think we actually got a little closer because of that. First time I've seen her so vulnerable since the Chainsaw Man incident."

 _Oh no!_, Harry thought. He did it again! He caused Bit to reminisce about a time he felt close to Leena. Was he too late? Were the gears of love already set in motion for the two?

Harry muttered a curse. How much longer was he going to endure this?

"I hope the others aren't too worried about us," Bit said.

"You wanna go out and find away our of here ourselves?" Harry suggested.

"And get soaked in that rain? I'd rather wait till it's over," said Bit.

Bit and Harry sat there for the next half hour not saying much, except for a little comment here and there. They sat and listened to the calming pitter-patter of the rain. It certainly calmed Harry down. He was beginning to think he was overreacting and Bit's relationship with Leena was nothing more than platonic. Nothing to worry about at all.

Soon the rain started to let up. But by this time, it was well into night and very dark outside. Harry heard howling in the distance. At least he thought he did. He gulped.

"You wanna head out now? The rain's reduced to a drizzle. I think we can handle it," said Bit.

"B-but it's dark," said Harry nervously.

"Don't be a baby. You know there aren't any animals in the Mystic Forest," Bit said.

"Yeah, but it's awfully big. We could get lost. Very lost," Harry pointed out.

"Okay, fine, we'll wait till morning," said Bit.

"Oh no you guys won't," said a voice. Bit and Harry jumped, startled. They looked towards the cave entrance and saw two big men in uniforms and flashlights. The flashlights shown bright on the faces of the two warriors.

One of the men took out a badge and showed it to them.

"We're with the Zoid Battle Commission. Are you two Bit Cloud and Harry Champ?"

The two warriors nodded.

"We understand that you two were lost in an explosion from a Zoid battle that occurred early in the afternoon. We were sent to search for you once we heard of your disappearances. We're here to take you home," said the other officer. The two boys breathed a sigh of relief.

"How 'bout that!" Bit said putting an arm around Harry's shoulder and brought him in for a manly one-arm hug, cheek-to-cheek. "Looks we'll be able to see Leena and the others soon enough!"

"Um, Bit?" Harry said uncomfortably, "Our faces are touching…"

Later that night, Harry and Bit were safely returned to the Tauros base and were greeted by very happy faces. Bit was happy to know that his Liger 0 was already being taken care of and should be as good as new as soon as possible.

"I can't believe you guys survived," said Jamie happily.

"I was sure you two were goners," Brad said, relieved. Doc had to concur. But Leena was all over them. She was the most worried out of all the others. She was hugging the life out of Bit and Harry. Neither of them minded.

"Oh Leena, I'm sorry we had to be apart for so long," Harry said.

"Yeah, didn't mean to scare you like that," Bit apologized.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you two are okay," Leena said.

"Even me?" asked Harry.

"Yes, Harry, even you," she said giving him a wink.

"Well, now that we know they're fine, I think I have my appetite back," Doc said. The rest agreed. "Harry, wanna join us for dinner?"

"Sure," Harry smiled.

They all left for the dining room, but Bit wanted to stay in the hangar to talk to Harry in private. He had something important to say.

"Hey, Harry, can we talk for a second?" Bit asked.

"Fine," Harry said, annoyed. He had been away from Leena for so long he had been itching to be with her again and not alone with Bit for another hour.

"I've been thinking about what we talked about. In the cave back there."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, how you were saying what Leena thought of me and…"

"No, no, no, that was just friendly nothing more," Harry said. But it was too late.

"It actually got me thinking that…maybe…I do kind of like Leena. You helped me realize how beautiful she was and all the fun times we had together and you helped me admit that I wanted more. Even when you challenged me this morning and described all her features, it had me kind of jealous. Now let's admit it, you don't have snowball's chance in heck to go out with Leena. But I think I do. So I think I'm going to ask her out. Tonight," Bit stated, "You don't mind do you?"

"What?! No  y-"

"No? Aw, great! Thanks Harry! You're a real pal! Well, off to dinner," said Bit and quickly ran off. Harry just stood there, mouth agape. He clenched his fists tightly, grinded his teeth and let out a loud, sharp…

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

**_The End_**

Well what did you think? Perhaps not my best, but I enjoyed it. Bit and Harry can make quite the duo now that I think about it. Please Review! And thank you for your time. ^_^


End file.
